mercoledì 14 gennaio 2015

Part two of my previews of new year's comics. You'll notice I left out some cartoonists I already talked about several times to introduce new artists and publications. You can read the first part here.

6) Ur by Eric Haven - Adhouse Books has already started its 2015 with this collection of short stories by Eric Haven previously published in various anthologies and magazines. As I could see from a preview pdf, these are absolutely brilliant and hilarious comics, where Haven blends superheroes parody, classic underground comics, the strange worlds of Fletcher Hanks, the rhythm of newspaper strips and... explosive diarrhea. The true leitmotiv of the book is the author's fascination for absurd, paradox and exaggeration. If you want a taste of all this, you can take a look at Haven's website, where he posted some of the comics contained in Ur, and at this interview on Robot 6.

7) Infinite Bowman by Pat Aulisio - Hic & Hoc Publications will release this spring the ultimate collection of Pat Aulisio's Bowman, a sort of 2001: A Space Odyssey where "slightly dazed" astronaut David Bowman rides horses with the head of Garfield, fights giant robots and after becoming general of Satan's army performs a coup d'état. The book collects the already published Bowman, Bowman 2016, Bowman Earthbound and a new 75-page 4th chapter that concludes the saga, characterized by Aulisio's increasingly detailed style.

8) Treasury of Mini Comics Vol. 2 - After Newave! and the first book of Treasury of Mini Comics, the new anthology edited by Michael Dowers for Fantagraphics explores the most recent ramifications of a subculture based on selling and trading handcrafted comics booklets. The new mini-hardback is already in the stores and assembles as usual more than 800 pages of comics and illustrations, with works by Trina Robbins, Marc Bell, Tom Hart, J.R. Williams, Pat Moriarity, Renée French, Johnny Ryan, Jeffrey Brown, Jim Rugg, Lisa Hanawalt, Souther Salazar and Theo Ellsworth.

9) A Mysterious Process by GG - "Hi, my name is GG. I am a reclusive author. I make comics and things in my bedroom". Last May a mysterious artist called GG inaugurated her Tumblr, launching soon after the website Ohgigue, where she is also selling physical version of her "loosely autobiographic" comics. After reaching second place at last year Comics Workbook Composition Competition with Semi-Vivi, GG is now publishing on Frank Santoro's website her most ambitious work to date, the evocative A Mysterious Process, a comic in cinemascope with subtitles reporting dialogues. The printed version will be out around May, but in the meantime you can follow the developing of the story and discover the fascinating world of this enigmatic cartoonist.

10) Kovra #6 - 224 pages in Spanish and English for this new anthology, probably the best of the series according to the preview images seen on Ediciones Valientes website. Available in these days, this A5 book hosts new works by Amanda Baeza, Berliac, Cegado, Leo Quievreux, Pedro Franz, Ulli Lust, Victor Dvnkel and many others. A different look at indie comics, between Europe and South America, Kovra is at the moment one of the most intriguing anthologies of the Old Continent.

sabato 10 gennaio 2015

As I did last year, but in a different way, I'm previewing some comics scheduled for the next months. I'm splitting this list in three parts, publishing them throughout January. Thanks to all the artist and publishers who sent me news and advance pictures.

1) Frontier #8 by Anna Deflorian - Youth in Decline continues to host in its series Frontier the best talents of our days. In May it will be the turn of Italian artist and cartoonist Anna Deflorian, best known for her graphic novel Roghi, who is creating a book described as "full and decorative in a 70s shojo manga vs renaissance painting way (haha)". This is another big hit for Ryan Sands, who discovered Deflorian's work thanks to her comic published in the ninth issue of š!.

2) Revenger by Charles Forsman - The first issue of Revenger, the new series by Chuck Forsman published by his Oily Comics, marks a drastic change of pace for the author of TEOTFW and Celebrated Summer, now making an "action and violence comic book" characterized by the use of color and a more realistic style that can recall Steve Dillon. Set in a darker version of the USA in 1987, the story follows our "heroine", a sort of a rogue-for-hire, going in a small city to help a teenage boy who is worried about his missing girlfriend. Inspired by comics and movies from 70s and 80s and by contemporary cartoonists as Benjamin Marra (author of the back cover of this first issue) and Michel Fiffe, Revenger is already available for download, while the printed version will be out in February.

3) Terror Assaulter: One Man War On Terror di Benjamin Marra- And talking about Benjamin Marra, Fantagraphics will publish in the fall a book from the author of Night Business and Blades & Lazers, collecting mostly unreleased work, since only one comic book of Terror Assaulter was published so far. For those of you who aren't familiar with him, it's the right time to enter into the violent, provocative, ironic world of the bearded American cartoonist, stylistically reminiscent of unforgettable artists as Jim Steranko and Paul Gulacy and with a strong pop art vein.

4) Drawn & Quarterly: Twenty-Five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels - In May Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly will put out a celebratory book of 512 pages for its 25th anniversary, with never-before-seen or rare works from cartoonists as Chester Brown, Michael DeForge, Julie Doucet, Debbie Dreschler, Tom Gauld (author of the cover above), Rutu Modan, John Porcellino, Art Spiegelman, James Sturm, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Adrian Tomine and many others. Besides the comics, editor Tom Devlin is also assembling interviews, personal reminiscences of D&Q staff, photographs and essays by guest stars Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Lethem and Chris Ware.

5) Viewotron #3 by Sam Sharpe and David Goodrich - The second issue of Viewotron, released in spring 2013, showcased a single beautiful autobiographical story by Sam Sharpe about the relationship between the author/protagonist, depicted as an anthropomorphic dog, and his schizophrenic mother. Given the considerable level of that comic, it is legitimate to expect great things from the third output of this anthology series, which will also mark the return of the co-creator David Goodrich. The tone will be definitely lighter, as you can see from the first panel of The Orb of Mild Disappointment, one of the main stories of this new issue, tentatively scheduled for a summer 2015 release.